They say time is money, and if that's true, then every
minute you spend on your business should be time well-spent.
Working from home has a lot of benefits, but it also brings its
share of distractions. Here are 10 ways to take control of your
activities and make the most of every minute:

1. Manage your time around objectives rather than
activities. "People get caught up doing tasks when they
really need to ask themselves why they're doing those
tasks," explains Bill Brooks, founder and CEO of The Brooks
Group, a sales training and business growth company in
Greensboro, North Carolina. "Ask yourself what your long-term
goals are, what your short-term goals are and what your strategy is
to accomplish those things. Those then become the specific tasks
that you work on."

3. Learn how to build a file. Ideas and issues that
relate to a certain project can rob you of your ability to think
straight and accomplish other projects. "Put them together in
a file so that you can keep your mind free to keep going,"
suggests Jeary.

4. Master the telephone. Phone calls are one of the most
common interruptions. Measure each call's importance, and get
off the phone the moment you realize the call isn't relevant to
your business.

5. Understand your peak times. If you're a morning
person, get up at the crack of dawn and get things done. Recognize
your most productive times, and schedule your most important tasks
within those times.

6. Remember, clutter breeds confusion. "A cluttered
work space does nothing but raise stress," warns Brooks.
"Clutter causes you to be so focused on what you're doing
that you lose sight of your purpose. Don't get stuck in that
activity trap."

7. Develop a family strategy. Sit down with your family
and discuss good ways to respect your time when you're working.
Discuss when it's OK to interrupt and when it's not.

8. Master your listening skills. Don't make yourself
have to do double the work because you weren't listening in the
first place. Get it right the first time.

9. Hire an assistant. "People don't realize the
power of having a part-time assistant," says Jeary. For one
thing, having an assistant forces you to delegate-but it also
forces you to prioritize tasks and organize them so that someone
else can take care of some of your work, thus freeing you up to
grow your business.

10. Know how to manage yourself. "Time management is
really self-management first," says Brooks. "The biggest
cause of failure for people is a lack of self-discipline. How well
are you disciplining yourself to accomplish things?"